


In Unchanging Fashion (Klaus had a friend)

by justarandomword, WolfishHel



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: And violence, F/F, F/M, Klaus Hargreeves Defense Squad, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, M/M, Mentions of Blood, aka what if there was one (1) decent adult in the vet bar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2019-11-15 14:32:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18075203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justarandomword/pseuds/justarandomword, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfishHel/pseuds/WolfishHel
Summary: Klaus' visit at the vet bar went a little differently when someone spoke out in his defense and reintroduced him to a friend from 1968.Now, there are two new players in the game - both of them well-adjusted adults - and that might just make all the difference.





	1. New friends, old friends

Shaking fingers pressed against the glass of a photograph behind a case dedicated to the Vietnam War. A photograph of his unit displayed like a trophy.

He took a deep breath, let it rattle from his lungs and finally found the courage to focus on the one face he’d avoided looking at the longest. The second he did he found himself unable to look away, drinking the sight of windswept hair and a large grin on that familiar, beautiful face in like it was water and he was dying out in the desert (again).

“Hey Dave,” he whispered, tears already welling up again even as he smiled.

He sighed quietly, pressed a few fingers against his lips and brought them back to curl against the glass before the tears overtook his vision and he found himself sobbing in front of a board in the middle of a Vet bar.

God, Dave.

The sounds of gunfire and choppers and explosives quickly took over the quiet sound of Vets mumbling and Memory Bound playing in the background. He lowered his head, remembering crying out Dave’s name, remembered the awful, blood-chilling realization that Dave had been hit.  
He shook himself out of it, wiped his eyes and sniffed before bringing up his patch and kissing it, a sad smile back on his face.

Caught up in memories he startled when Diego’s hand landed on his shoulder.

“Just go away, please,” he sighed.

“Not until you talk to me,” Diego answered, eyes roving over the display.

Klaus rubbed his eyes. “Is that a threat? You threatening me?”

Diego opened his mouth to answer but was instead interrupted by a Vet.  
“Hey, guys. This bar? It’s for vets only.”

“I am a vet,” Klaus snapped back. Diego looked back at him, something like reproach written all over his face.

“Really,” the vet chuckled. “Where’d you serve?”

“None of your business.”

“You got balls comin’ in here, pretendin’ you’re one of us,” the vet scoffed.

“Oh, I have every right to be here, just like you,” Klaus turned around, glaring at the man. “Asshole.”

That was the limit, apparently, and the vet stepped forward.

“Whoa. Hey. Slow down, Marine,” Diego intervened. “All right? My brother’s just had a few too many. Let’s just call it a day, all go our own way.”

“Sure thing.”

“Thank you. Klaus-”

“As long as you apologize.”

The vet had that insufferable look on his face as if he was sure he’d won this argument. Klaus wanted nothing more than to knock it off his face and he couldn’t help but giggle.

“Oh, shove off Harry,” a woman stepped in. She worked at the bar. The owner, maybe?

“Jamie,” the vet, Harry, protested.

“You got no right to be harassing this kid,” Jamie scowled. “He’s not obligated to share the story of his service any more than you are to share yours with him. He doesn’t have to tell you shit about shit.”

“But he’s not even a vet. This is a vet bar. ”

Jamie straightened her spine. She must’ve been a commanding officer of some sort, with how she managed to project the very obvious order and threat in her voice. “I said leave it, Harry. He’s a vet, he’s got a right to be here, now  _ leave it _ . Go back to your beer.”

Harry threw him one more suspicious look, then skulked off back to his table where his buddies surrounded him.

“I’m sorry about him. He gets suspicious about anyone new,” Jamie sighed, offering Klaus a half-smile. “Jamie Harrison, Navy. You?”

“Klaus, Army,” he grinned back. “And my brother, Diego.”

“The Vietnam display, hm?” she hummed. “We got a vet from there if you want to talk to him? He loves chatting, loves making new friends but the bar tends to only have the usuals who know all his stories.” She shrugged, grinned wryly. ”He’s not like Harry, you’ll probably like him - he can talk your ear off about his stories if you’ll let him. I think it helps him - the talking, I mean. It might help you too.”

“Uhh, sure,” Klaus shrugged off Diego’s hand.

“Klaus we should go,” Number Two hissed, his voice strained.

“I’m staying. You go.” Diego made an exasperated sound.

“I’m sticking with you until I know what’s up with you.”

“Then I guess we’re both staying, now hush,” Klaus waved. Diego just sighed and followed them to a corner of the bar where an elderly man sat hunched over a table, sipping his coffee and watching the news.

“Hey Kenny,” Jamie greeted. The man waved, turning his attention onto the woman. “Got a new person for you to meet.”

Kenny smiled at them, eyes drifting over their features and sizing them up. When he reached Klaus’ face, his face dropped into one of astonishment.

“On my word, I can’t believe it,” Kenny rasped. He stood up, took a few steps forward towards Klaus. “  Dave’s Klaus?”

“I- yeah?” He blinked. Wait. Kenny. Kenny, Vietnam, Army, _ knew him and Dave _ . “Holy shit Kenny you’re  _ ancient _ .”

“ _ At least I aged you dumb fuck, _ ” Kenny, wonderful Kenny who talked about his fiancee and his dreams of starting a little rose garden so he could give her a rose every day during their blooming seasons. Kenny who had taken Klaus’ oddities in stride, who had accepted his and Dave’s relationship with ease and leapt to their defence whenever someone tried to start shit.

God, Kenny was alive.

“Kenny? You know Klaus?” Jamie asked. Both she and Diego had looks of total confusion on their faces - something that would’ve been quite comical if he and Kenny weren’t locked in a mutual stare-off of  _ holy shit you’re alive _ .

“How are you alive?” Kenny blurted out. “I mean- I’m glad? But you’re so, so  _ young _ , and- Dave was- They found him but you were gone? And we thought you’d ran off into enemy fire or got hit too but we just hadn’t been able to find you and we- we got you listed as killed in action and-”

“Okay hold up, Kenny, breathe for a second,” Jamie slapped him on the back as he coughed. “I’ll get you something to drink. Jesus Christ, what the fuck is going on in this place nowadays?”

“I don’t know,” Klaus said dazedly, dropping down in a chair prompting both Diego and Kenny to do the same. “Thank you,” he glanced up at Jamie as she set four glasses down along with a huge pitcher of iced tea.

“How are you here, Klaus?” Kenny suddenly asked after a minute or two of silence. He pointed at him. “We thought you were  _ dead  _ and even if you weren’t, you shoulda been my age - a tired old man, not some shiny twenty-something-year-old.”

“Time travel,” Klaus offered a grin at Kenny’s groan. He’d always said he’d gotten into the cabin by means of time travel and, mostly, it was brushed off as one of Klaus’ many enigmas. But to hear it again, to see the young man who should not have been a young man? That made it real. Which made it a pain in his ass.

“Time travel,” he growled, tipping the glass back in one hit as if that would somehow magically make it alcoholic and not just iced tea (great iced tea, but just iced tea nonetheless).

Jamie held up her hand, squinting at him. “You’re the weird kids with the powers from the news those years ago aren’t you? The, what, the Underwear Academy or whatever?”

“Umbrella Academy,” Diego corrected. Jamie waved a hand at him. “And yes. That a problem?”

“Not unless you make it my problem,” she snorted. “But it makes your story more believable. Saw you all on the news some years ago. Jumping around and throwing knives outside the bounds of physics and just launching grown ass men out of high up windows. The world’s gone crazy and we’re all gonna die, but what else is new?”

“How’d you-”

“Your brother here is covered in tattoos,” she pointed. “Hands, wrist and upper arm. Probably more if I were to guess. But one of ‘em is that funky logo. Recognized it.”

“You’re good,” Klaus grinned.

“I was trained to be,” she shrugged. “But back to this whole mess. So you time travelled to Vietnam in, what, 1965, round that time?”

“1968,” Kenny corrected. He’d put a hand on Klaus’ knee and occasionally he’d squeeze it as if to make sure he was still there and not some… advanced hallucination caused by getting old. “My squad.”

“I’m shit at remembering years,” Jamie sighed. “Anyways, so you find yourself in Vietnam in 1968 - God, you’re the one Kenny joked about who had no fucking training aren’t you?”

“That’s me,” Klaus raised his hand. “Nothing but a bloodstained towel and a briefcase on me.”

“Damn. So you somehow drag your ass through the army untrained for ten months, your… partner? Dave, right?”

“Yeah.” Klaus absently patted his dog tags.

“Dave dies? And you go back? Did I get it about right?”

Klaus snorted. “Nailed it, actually.“

“That Dave’s tags too?” Klaus looked down at them, nodding slowly.

“I took them when he - y’know? I needed something of his and he told me that- told me how he had no one to give them to if he died. So I took them.”

Kenny nodded, misty-eyed. “Better that it’s you. He’d have wanted you to have ‘em.”

Klaus nodded, looking lost and small and Kenny wanted nothing more than to hug him that moment. So he did. He, little old man he was, lifted Klaus’ scrawny ass out of that chair straight into a bear hug that would make a grizzly proud.

“You’re still as big a dumbass as you were back in ‘Nam,” he groaned. “Don’t go blaming yourself, boy.”

“Well I have been back for all of half a day,” Klaus mumbled into Kenny’s shirt which, upon closer inspection (very close, actually, his nose was kind of pressed into it) was found to be a bunch of little flamingoes on beige that Klaus  _ did not _ approve of even if he’d been too distracted to notice before. “Your fashion sense still sucks by the way.”

“Say what now,“ Diego, Jamie and Kenny all said at the same time in a way eerily similar to some horror movie Klaus can hardly remember watching.

“Back for half a- half a day?” Jamie gaped. “You’ve been back. From Vietnam. For _ half a day _ . And you’re here?”

“Yes? I thought we covered the whole time-travelling schtick earlier-?”

“Jamie means you’ve probably got some wild psychological issues, Klaus,” Kenny interrupted. “She a psychologist of sorts. Helps vets. Helped me. ”

“I mean you’re not wrong,” Klaus pointed at the woman. “But not the time.”

“It’s always the time,” Jamie countered but relented. “Also can’t disagree on Kenny’s shirt. It  _ is  _ an eyesore.”

“Thank you,” Klaus said, gesturing wildly at her and back at Kenny. Kenny rolled his eyes, all too used to Klaus’ eccentrics.

“Focus,” Kenny sighed. “You’ve been back from Vietnam for half a day? So what, you just… left immediately after Dave’s death?”

Klaus looked away, grin fading quickly again. “Yeah, basically,” he shrugged, his hand drifting up to touch the dog tags. A nervous habit, Jamie noted. “He died and I couldn’t - couldn’t help. He was the only reason I even stayed as long as I did and I - I wasn’t thinking anymore, I just needed to go. So I grabbed my stuff from camp and ran.”

“Why didn’t you say goodbye?” Kenny asked quietly, hand once again back on Klaus’ knee. Klaus shrugged, his gaze firmly on the floor.

“Don’t know. I just- I ran. Dave’s blood was on my hands - literally - and I couldn’t think about anything except wanting to just go home and cry. So I did,” Klaus curled up a little, trying to hunch in on himself that just looked wrong for the man Kenny knew as a hyperactive, lovable pain in his ass. “‘M sorry.”

“It’s okay, kid,” Kenny pat Klaus on the shoulder. “It’s okay now. You’re here and you’re safe. I’m glad you’re still alive.”

Klaus sniffled. “Me too, even if you’re  _ ancient _ .”

“Oh, I’ll show you ancient, you-”

“Boys,” Jamie reprimanded. “Not to change the subject, but that picture you were looking at. It had Dave in it, didn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Kenny nodded. “Our whole squad was on there."

“I’ll see about getting you a copy. I keep multiples of everything in the back, I’ll go grab it,” she nodded, getting up. “Don’t break the bar down in the few minutes I’ll be gone, please and thanks.

So of course, this is when someone tried to break the bar down.

Well, that was an exaggeration, sort of. There were only two knives in the bar itself and Klaus was privately very proud of Diego for his restraint.

Harry had walked up the second Jamie disappeared behind the door to the back office, a buddy of his behind him.

“Just because you convinced Jamie ‘bout you being a vet doesn’t mean  _ I _ believe you. And you still owe me an apology.”

“And for what,” Klaus spat. “Should I be apologizing? A dickhole like you thinking I’m not a vet?”

“You  _ aren’t  _ a vet,” Harry growled back, stepping into his personal space. “Just because you made sad eyes at that girl and she fell for it don’t mean you’re one of ours.”

“Fuck off, Harry,” Kenny grunted, getting to his feet. “He  _ is  _ a vet. I know him.”

Harry looked at Kenny, eyeing him. “Then why won’t he even tell me where he served, huh? What’d he do, get dishonourably discharged? Get his partner killed?” He pushed even closer to Klaus, who had frozen. “You get someone killed, pretty boy? It that why you won’t tell us where you’re from? Scared we’ll find out?”

Klaus stared at him. He was completely still, deathly quiet and pale with rage.

One second passed. Then two. The clock ticked in the background and sounds of gunfire and choppers and explosions faded back into his hearing. He heard his own voice, calling Dave’s name and screaming desperately for a medic.

Felt the blood on his hands, the fading warmth of Dave’s face, the last breath he’d let go of.

The clock in the background ticked again and Klaus lunged. In one strike, Harry was on the floor, Klaus on his chest and beating into his face. Diego moved quickly to stop Harry’s friend. A knife at his feet had him stumbling back and two more had him pinned to the bar.

One man slipped into the back, likely off to warn Jamie.

“ _ HOW DARE YOU! _ ” Klaus fairly shrieked, raining down hits and scratches. “HOW DARE YOU, HOW DARE YOU, how DARE YOU, how dare you, howdareyouhowdareyou...”

Screams trailed off into sobs and Kenny, who’d motioned the other vets to stay away, wrapped his arms around Klaus, lifting him up and away.

“It’s okay,” Kenny said, framing Klaus’ face in his hands. “It’s okay, you’re here, you’re safe. You’re okay, Klaus.”

“What the fuck is going on here?” Jamie yelled, storming back in. She took in the scene - one man pinned to the bar with knives, Klaus’ weird brother holding more of said knives, Harry on the ground with a bloodied up face and Klaus himself wrapped in Kenny’s arms, breathing harshly into the older man’s shoulder as he shook out what looked to be a PTSD episode.

His knuckles were bloody.

“Christ, John go get the medkit. For fuck’s sake,” Jamie moved forward. “Well, any of you fuckwits want to tell me what happened?” She asked the room at large. It seemed the men were well acquainted enough with Jamie’s temper to offer a quick answer, because one man - large and muscular, probably in his fifties - stepped forward immediately. 

“Harry started trouble, ma’am,” he said. “Kept complaining about how the young man can’t possibly be a vet and finally went back to confront him again when you left for a minute. He crossed a line - taunted him about how he must’ve gotten someone killed and that’s why he won’t tell where he served.”

Jamie started, wide eyes turning to Harry whose face turned red. Well, redder - the blood had done a decent job already.   
“What in the hell is wrong with you, man? This is like the fourth time you’ve stirred up trouble for no goddamn reason,” she turned back to the other man. “Get his face cleaned and see about getting him to a hospital. He’s not welcome here for a month. I’m done with his shit.” 

“Yes ma’am,” the man nodded. “C’mon, Harry. We told you, man.” Two men scraped Harry off the floor and got him into a side room, presumably to clean his face.

“John, get me the disinfectant and some bandages and take the rest to the boys in the side room - Harry’s face is busted open.”

Meanwhile, Diego had retrieved his knives and Jamie had told Harry’s friend to either help Harry or fuck off, but when he left he’d better not show his face again for a few weeks.

“Alright,” Jamie sighed. “Klaus, I’m gonna have to clean your hands, okay?”   
Klaus nodded, still curled up in Kenny’s arm like a child. The image wasn’t helped by the thin hand that clutched at the older man’s collar.

She made quick work of it, obviously experienced. Diego, who had been oddly silent the entire time, finally deigned to speak up. 

“We should go,” he sighed. “Sorry for the damages.”

“Don’t worry about it. My son’s a street away, let me just call him and he can take over. I’ll go get my bag.”

Diego blinked. “What-”

“There’s a lot to talk about. And I’m not leaving until I know your brother is somewhere safe,” Kenny said. His hand was absently running through Klaus’ hair, petting him. “Jamie’s already taken a shine to him. Not surprised, he fits right up her alley of ‘kids who need some goddamn help and support’.”

Diego stared for a moment but figured it wasn’t worth the fight. “Yeah whatever, you can come to our dad’s house. He should be going back home anyway, he was drinking from a bottle of vodka earlier.”

Jamie, who’d disappeared behind the bar again, hummed. “Great. Also meet my son, Robin.” A kid, about a head taller than his mother and ridiculously muscled, waved. “I’ve got my phone, call if something’s up and lock up early tonight.”

Klaus and Kenny had retrieved their coats, both of them now waiting by the door. Kenny was still talking in that quiet, soothing tone, his arm slung around Klaus’ shoulders. They quickly packed into Diego’s car, Kenny and Klaus in the back and Jamie and Diego discussing the whole end-of-the-world situation in the front.

It wasn’t until they slowed in front of Griddy’s Doughnuts however that Diego’s eyes drifted to the side, looking at the place. He hissed Klaus’ name, motioning to the place where a man in a blue suit was climbing into a small car.

“That’s our man.” 

“Hey, I know that guy,” Klaus mumbled.   
“How could you possibly know that--”   
“He and a really angry lady tortured me,” he continued. “I barely got out with my life.” 

Diego eyed him, concern back on his face.   
Jamie’s eye twitched. “Say what now?”   
Kenny groaned. “Kid, what the fuck.”

“We gotta get this guy,” Diego put the car in reverse and followed.

If Jamie hissed a quiet  _ idiot  _ under her breath, that was purely between her and the air and no one else.

It didn’t take that long for them to arrive at a motel - a sight that had Klaus recoiling into Kenny’s side and the two other vets sharing dark looks while Diego ducked outside and placed a tracker on the other guy’s car before returning and checking the windows. 

“This is crazy, you should call the cops-”   
“They’ve already killed a cop.  _ My friend _ , the cop.”   
“ _ All the more reason to call them then. _ ”

Diego ignored that, leaving Jamie to huff and lean back in her seat. She turned around and looked at Klaus, who was, in turn, staring intently at Diego.

“You okay?”

He made a small gesture to yes, then spoke. “You do know killing these people is not gonna make you feel any better?”

“Yeah, but when it’s done,” Diego made to get out. “I’m gonna sleep like a baby.”

“You sure about that?” Kenny asked quietly.

“Stay in the car,” Diego said instead of responding.

Jamie tugged him back, raising her voice over Klaus’ complaints. “Are you crazy? Going in without backup? These guys have apparently killed and tortured loads of people so they’re definitely armed, you can’t go by yourself!”

“I have a plan.”

“ _ You _ have a death wish,” she retorted. “I’m going with you, Kenny and Klaus can wait some ways away in case they try to go for the car.”

“You wouldn’t be safe-”

“I’m a trained  _ Navy vet _ , you dumbass,” she slapped his arm. “I’ve got a firearm with me. Now let’s go, since you wanna die so bad.” 

Diego glared at her the entire way to the stairwell, up until they reached the right floor and he focused on his objective.   
She raised her gun, siding up to the door and nodding for him to go ahead. With one kick, the door was opened, revealing a mostly-empty room with the TV still playing.   
Jamie kept her eyes sharp, eyes flickering for signs of movements.

There was none, but there was the very distinctive screeching of tires and, looking back, she noted the car coming around the corner at worrying speeds. Light blue, small, would’ve been cute if it hadn’t been used by murderers for hire - yup, that was the car Diego had followed. A masked person was leaning out and years and years of service had her pushing Diego back into the stairwell when the first shots fired.

“Damnit,” she hissed, peering behind and quickly firing a few shots back. It wasn’t enough to stop them, but a set of bullet holes might at least serve for a distinctive mark they could look for.

“They’re getting away,” Diego yelled, sprinting downstairs, finding his brother and Kenny hiding downstairs in the stairwell. “Get in the car!”

Across the parking lot, the tires of the car had been flattened - presumably shot by the driver of the car. There would be no driving that thing. 

Which is apparently how Jamie found herself behind the wheel of an ice cream van, Kenny cursing about his age in the middle seat,  Klaus almost on his lap (cursing at someone called Ben and ‘where the fuck he had been’) and Diego squished against the window.

She wondered about the day, how it went from a peaceful breakfast with her wife and their kids to a chaotic mess that had her struggling to keep up from down. All this while driving an ice cream truck that Klaus had somehow rigged to play ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ down a road in the middle of nowhere.

What had her life become?

Klaus leaned over her lap, waving out of the window at a little boy and some weirdly proportioned man on the side of the road. 

“Go faster!” Diego yelled, prompting Jamie to push the gas pedal down as far as it would go,

The two murder maniacs they were after started firing, but somehow missed the windows completely and Jamie found a vague sense of justice when the truck sent them flying back.   
They smashed into the car, her and Kenny both instinctively bracing and holding out a hand to protect Klaus and Diego respectively in the manner of loving parents everywhere. 

“Shit,” Kenny groaned, opening his door and nearly tumbling out as she did the same, turning to catch Klaus and Diego and sending them to the man they seemed to recognize.   
The man was shouting for someone called ‘Five’ and the kid had seemingly vanished (which, Jamie hoped Five was not the kid’s actual name because what kind of parent would name their kid that?).   
The man threw a briefcase into the field and opened the doors for them to dive into the car, which they did. Diego, Klaus and Kenny huddled in the back while Jamie fairly vaulted over the car to the passenger’s side and dove in.

“DRIVE,” she ordered.

“Luther,” Klaus’ voice almost broke even as he twisted around to hold up a middle finger to the back window. “Go, go, go!”

 

(Klaus noted Ben’s presence in the front with Jamie when he patted the dashboard with a  wide smile, saying “let’s go” as if they weren’t about to be hunted down by two sadistic lunatics, whooping when Luther stepped on the gas, the adrenaline junkie.)

Finally,  _ finally _ , they arrived at the Academy and Jamie hopped out, helping Kenny (and by extension Klaus) out before rounding on the two Hargreeves boys she had become familiar with.   
Two quick pinches had their ears in her grasp and she expertly ignored their complaints. 

“If I ever,  _ fucking ever _ , hear about you doing stupid shit like that again, I will personally  _ hunt you down _ and ground you.”

“You were with us!” Diego protested.

“So what?” Jamie yelled, twisting his ear. “No unnecessary risks. No trying to go after murderous lunatics without backup, no antagonizing the crazy people, do you understand?”

“But I didn’t-”

“Don’t think Kenny hasn’t told me about the shit you got up to in ‘Nam,” she cut Klaus off. “ _ Do you understand? _ ”

“Yes ma’am,” Diego finally yelped when her grip tightened in warning again, and he rubbed his ear with a curse when she let up.

“Good,” she turned expectant eyes on Klaus, letting him go too when he nodded frantically. “I’m glad we understand each other. Christ, I’m too old for this.”

Luther, who had mostly just been watching with wide eyes, finally stepped forward.

“Diego, Klaus, who are these people?”

“Jamie and Kenny,” Klaus pointed to them both. “Meet Luther, one of my dear father’s many bought babies.”

Jamie gave him a look but seemed to decide it wasn’t worth the fight and simply held out a hand to Luther. “Jamie Harrison.”

“Luther Hargreeves,” he said, careful not to squeeze her hand and doing the same with Kenny when he strolled up and introduced himself.

“We should go to my room, it'll at least be somewhat private,” Klaus sighed.

“Lead on,” Kenny motioned.

The four of them trotted up the stairs, leaving Luther behind in the entrance.   
There was a lot to talk about.


	2. From Conversation Blooms Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talks are had, so are panic attacks and in the end, maybe a little time with new friends is all we really need to feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter felt like a trainwreck writing it and idk how pleased I am with it, but here you go anyways.
> 
> we stan jamie and noelle that is all thanks-jrw

“Alright,” Jamie sighed, taking place on the bed next to Klaus. Kenny sat down on his other side. Diego pulled up the chair to sit in front of the bed, leaning forward with his arms on his knees. “So what the fuck just happened?”

Klaus let out a surprised laugh. “Good question, honestly if I had an answer for you I’d give it,” he said with a half-hearted wave of his arm. “But I don’t.”

“Great,” Kenny sighed. “Okay, so. Fuckin’... time-travelling assassins, huh?”

“Yup,” Diego said. “Out for our blood, apparently.”

“You know, I don’t remember you swearing as much. And it was a day ago for me so I’d know,” Klaus pointed at Kenny with a grin. The older man elbowed him in the side without remorse. “Ow!”

“Boys!” God, Jamie was going to wear that word out by the end of the week, wasn’t she? “So, why are the time police after you?”

“Uh, so you know the whole thing about the Umbrella Academy? And the powers and stuff?” Jamie and Kenny both nodded. “Okay, so, our little brother Five disappeared years and years ago. Tried to time travel and got stuck in the future. And uh...”

Diego picked up where Klaus left off. “What he’s trying to say is that Five discovered the apocalypse is going to happen soon.”

Silence.

Kenny swung his gaze between the two Hargreeves’, both who looked back at him with rare solemn expressions.  
One beat, another and then he was wildly cursing, dragging himself to his feet and pacing the length of Klaus’ room.

Jamie was a different story. She frowned for a second then looked down at her hands, curling them into fists and taking a deep breath. She closed her eyes for a few breaths and when she’d counted to 50 she opened them again and stared Klaus dead in the eyes.

“How long?”

“He, uh. He wasn’t specific but I think we have a few weeks, if not-  if not days,” the Séance sighed.

“Okay,” Jamie blinked furiously. Her wife, her _kids_. A few weeks, if not days, to live. She dragged in another breath. Focus, she needed to focus. “Okay. What can we do about this?”

“What? You are not-!” Diego protested. One sharp look by Jamie dissuaded him from continuing that line of speech.

“I am,” Jamie said. “I am going to do whatever the fuck I need to do to make sure my wife and my three children have a chance at a great future.”

Klaus’ mind immediately jumped back to Dave. The conversations they’d had, ideas whispered to each other about farmhouses and dogs and little kids. Quiet voices talking about possibilities and maybes that could be (could’ve been), as if saying them too loudly would cause them to disappear.  
They had anyways.

Sounds of the gunfire that had blown those options away overtook his hearing and it was all he could do not to drown in the feeling of blood on his hands.

Kenny in his next swing around to pace the length of Klaus’ room caught a glimpse of curled hands drifting up to Klaus’ head and only took seconds to put two and two together.

“Klaus!” He said loudly, stepping closer towards his old friend. A flinch and glassy, dazed eyes tried to focus on him. “Klaus, can you tell me where you are right now?”

“Kenny?” Klaus frowned, eyes focusing and zoning back out in seconds. “Kenny, where’s Dave?”

“Dave’s gone, Klaus,” Kenny said carefully, sitting next to him. Klaus looked at him with wide eyes, uncomprehending.

“What? What, no. Where’s Dave?”

Kenny tried to put his hand on Klaus’ shoulder. “Klaus. Klaus, Dave’s dead. He’s not here.”

Klaus smacked his hands off. “That’s not funny, Ken! Where is he? Where’s Dave?” He took in a rattling breath when Kenny just stared at him, unsmiling. “Where is- Kenny, where’s Dave? He’s not- he’s not, he’s _fine_ , he’s- where’s he?” Tears filled his eyes and a quiet sob built somewhere in his chest, only coming out when he looked down and felt the burning red on his hands, saw the blood and soot coating them.

“No, no,” he gasped out. “No, please, nonononono.”

Jamie intervened. “Klaus,” she put a firm hand on Klaus’ leg. Normally she wouldn’t touch someone in midst of a flashback, but. “Look at me. Eyes on me, now,” she ordered.

Wide, red eyes drifted up to her. Not ideal, but she’d take it. “Alright, good job. Can you breathe with me? Just breath in,” she exaggerated her example, held her breath for a few seconds. “And out.”

A few more minutes passed like that, the only sound heavy breathing. Kenny had started rubbing circles into Klaus’ back like he used to do for his little girls when they had nightmares. On the chair, Diego sat stiff and wide-eyed, very much confused as to what the fuck was going on.

Jamie kept up her steady counting until Klaus blinked a few times as if to reorient himself.

“Hi.”

“Welcome back, kid,” Kenny said.

“You with us now?” Jamie rubbed his arm.

“Yeah. Uh, hi. This isn’t awkward, like, at all?”

She snorted, backing off and leaning back. “You’re hardly the first vet I’ve seen go through some pretty awful flashbacks and I doubt you’ll be the last.”

“Is that what that was?” Diego looked between the three huddled together on the bed. “That’s not much different from your usual though. Usually, it just passes on its own.”

Jamie glared. Kenny glared. Klaus looked away. Next to him, Ben was glaring too.

“No it doesn’t,” his dead brother hissed. “You just ignore him until he passes out or _I_ calm him down.”

“Shut your mouth,” Klaus hissed to him. Diego looked offended and Klaus opened his mouth to correct him but decided it wasn’t worth it. They never believed him anyway.

“PTSD flashbacks don’t just ‘go away on their own’, dumbass,” Kenny said with a sarcasm that was disturbingly out of place coming from a seemingly gentle old man.

“I think I would know how my brother works better than you,” Diego scowled. “He’s always had things like this, it’s never been a big deal.”

“Never been a big deal,” Jamie repeated with a faint sort of disbelief. Klaus let out a quiet giggle at Ben’s ‘for once in your life, shut _up_ , Diego.’. “Never been a big- ‘Never been a big deal’, I’m going to lose my shit. Kenny, I’m gonna go absolutely fucking insane.”

“You and me both,” Kenny groaned.

“I don’t know if you’re being deliberately stupid or if you just _really fucking wanna die_ , but never try to tell me a vet’s panic attacks are no big deal _ever again_ in your fucking life unless you want me to cut it real short,” Jamie hissed, leaning right into Diego’s personal space.

“Maybe let’s not murder my brother, yeah?” Klaus waved his hands. “I don’t need two dead siblings following me around, frowning at every choice I make.” Ben huffed, offended.

“Fine. For now,” Jamie nodded, leaning back. Diego frowned.

“Two?” Klaus waved that off. He shot a longing look at the empty bottle of off-brand vodka on his nightstand, a look Jamie didn’t miss. She frowned, looked closer and spotted...

“Are those drugs?”

Klaus’ shoulder stiffened marginally, his movement a little jerkier when he sat up and stared at her. “And if they are?”

She eyed him, reading his body language. Her face was blank, nonjudgmental.  “I would tell you that they’re bad for you and ask you why you do them,” Jamie shrugged. “I’ve dealt with a lot of vets, Klaus. A lot of them. You’d be surprised how many of them come from a background of addiction or are still struggling with it. I know better than to judge.”

Kenny nodded, clapping his hand on Klaus’ shoulder. “She’s right. In Vietnam, we all saw how you struggled. You weren’t the only one. Sometimes shit happens and being numb is… well, it’s easier than the feelings. We’re not gonna judge you for something like that. Just know we’ll be here to help if you need it.”

Beside him, Ben grinned and nodded. Klaus wasn’t entirely sure how to feel.

This was a rarity. People who didn’t immediately judge or write him off for his drug habit. Even his own family struggled with or just flat out rejected him for it. Ben being the exception but, well, Ben was fucking dead which was a whole issue of its own.  
And sure, Kenny had been accepting before but it had always been more quiet support. Dave had done most of the talking in that department. And hell, Jamie was a virtual stranger regardless of how quickly she was climbing up into his category of ‘very good friends’.

It felt… nice.

“Are you gonna be okay here on your own?” Jamie asked. “This place seems like a massive solid brick trigger warning and this room is probably littered with drugs and alcohol. Temptations and stuff.”

“Yeah, I kind of… have to. I don’t exactly have a place of my own,” he shrugged.

“You can stay with me?”

“You’d let me?” - “You’d let him?” Klaus and Diego said at the same time. Jamie glared again.

“I’m not talking to you,” she coldly informed Number Two. “And of course, you’re welcome to stay. My kids would be happy to have a new person to pester - as long as you’re okay with it of course.”

“Uh yeah that, that sounds great actually,” Klaus nodded. Normally he wouldn’t agree to this, this quickly but… he had to get out, at least for the evening. This house, this room, these _brothers_. They were all just too much. Leaving would do him good and if there’s one thing Dave had tried to instil in him, it was decent self-care.

“I’ll call a cab,” Kenny grinned.

Somehow he managed to grab his stuff, get downstairs and into the cab (smushed securely between Kenny and Jamie) without his siblings or Pogo interfering. Then again, Diego had stalked off after his complaints about Klaus leaving were soundly shot down by Kenny, so who knows? They might be having a lovely family meeting about him right now.

The cab rolled up to a cute little brick house with a front door that was painted a light blue. It had a porch, which was only significant because of the three huge dogs that were sleeping there, all of them spread out on the wood floor without a care.

They walked up the stairs, Kenny obviously familiar, and got greeted by the sound of scrambling paws right before one of the dogs - a pure black one with pretty blue eyes - knocked Klaus flat on his ass.

A few beats passed before both Jamie and Kenny started laughing uproariously, Klaus just sitting there in shock. That was until a tongue swiped across his face and he found himself sputtering in a mix of disgust and surprise. Jamie let out a wheeze and almost fell to the floor while Kenny supported himself on the little table that sat by the front door.

“What the-”

“It seems Grimm likes you,” Jamie cackled.

“Wow,” Klaus deadpanned, staring right into Ben’s face. Ben, who was conveniently laughing too hard to get any sort of sound that wasn’t the screech of a dying whale out of his throat. He reached a hand up and pet the dog. It flopped over onto his chest, effectively pinning him to the floor. He just let out a sort of resigned groan. Ben fell over.

Great times.

It took a few minutes (or longer) for Jamie to get Klaus off the floor and inside. Her wife, who she introduced as Noelle, was a great woman.  
She’d offered Klaus tea and proceeded to get him settled and comfortable by discussing light topics with him, like flavours of tea and dog breeds.   
Kenny disappeared into the living room where the sound of two children giggling wildly was heard.   
Noelle happily told about the work she was now doing as a service dog trainer after leaving the Army, as well as about the work as a veteran-specialized psychologist Jamie had taken up after her stint in the Navy.

Ben had settled himself on the counter and was attentively listening to every word while Jamie sipped her own tea, typed something up on her laptop and smiled fondly at her wife every time her story went off in a different tangent or she gestured wildly in her excitement.

Klaus’ heart ached. He’d wanted to have that with Dave so badly. Now he never would, but seeing it be a reality for Jamie and Noelle did bring him some amount of joy.

Finally, dinner was announced and a shriek came from the living room seconds before Kenny reappeared with two kids hoisted under his arms, both giggling wildly while they squirmed around and tried to get free.

“Children,” Jamie scolded lightly when Noelle looked at her quite pointedly. Her tone and the fond smile on her face may or may not have made her quite ineffective, but Kenny put the kids down right as Robin entered the house and the table was filled with food and laughter.

Throughout dinner, Klaus only learned more about this delightful little family Jamie had built with Noelle.

“We moved in together and we were just kind of a thing after a while. We were a couple and even though we weren’t able to call it that because of the laws, we were still very much in love,” Jamie explained. “Then in June 2015 when gay marriage was legalized, we were right there amongst those who got engaged within the next week or so.  We actually proposed to each other at the same time - it was a whole thing.”

“Later that same year we had a fall wedding. We’d been planning for years. Robin here,” Noelle clapped him on the shoulder. “Was 18 at the time and he and my dad walked me down the aisle. Kenny and Jamie’s Dad actually walked Jamie down the aisle. It was quite beautiful and Antoni over here,” she motioned to her other son. “was only 3 but his sister Remi who was 10 at the time walked him down as they were the ringbearers.”

“How did you get the kids?” Klaus asked upon Ben’s poking.

“Each of them came to us differently,” Jamie speared a vegetable on her fork. “Robin was given to me by his mom. I was his godmother and she was a military officer. She was sent to tour when he was four and never made it home, so I got custody.”

Noelle took over again. “Remi was actually adopted from my sister. She wasn’t ready for a child and she knew we wanted another so when Remi was born she gave her to us and we’ve been raising her ever since.”

“Antoni was… well,” Jamie trailed off and heavy silence settled on the room for a moment before Jamie picked up again. “Antoni was abandoned by his parent on our doorstep, Harry Potter style. We just found him one day with his birth certificate and some small sentimental stuff in a bag next to him. He was cold and ill and he was in and out of the hospital for months upon months. But now he’s doing well and he’s a lively young man,” she laughed, ruffling her youngest’s hair and breaking the tension. Remi poked her brother in the side, sparking a friendly argument and soon enough they were chatting happily again.

The atmosphere was only lightened further when Klaus shrieked after a cold, wet something swiped across his bare ankle only to groan when he realized it was the dog, Grimm.

“Usually he’s not that affectionate,” Noelle noted, hiding a smile behind her cup and meeting her wife’s amused eyes. “Seems like he’s really taken to you, Klaus.”

Klaus just groaned.  
Great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take requests and prompts over at @imnotlookingforhappy on tumblr.


	3. The Makings of Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Klaus, Jamie and Kenny meet with the Hargreeves and the stage is set for the real confrontations.

When she had woken up the previous morning, she really could not have been more wrong in her predictions of the next 48 hours or so.   
This Jamie mused while leaning in the door opening of her kitchen, watching her unplanned guest pour himself a glass of water at 3 am, his hands shaking. Grimm weaved around his legs, pressing his sides to the young man’s knees.

“Klaus?” she asked, moving into the kitchen and taking note of the flinch, moving back and into his line of sight accordingly. “You okay? Why are you up at this hour?”

“It uh- it was a bit loud and I was thirsty so I- I decided to get some water,” Klaus said awkwardly. It had been dead silent all night, Jamie knew.

“Mhm,” she responded instead, grabbing a glass of her own. “You’re shaking.”

“I, uh-” his eyes darted to the left, narrowed, then dropped down to his glass again. “Shut up, Ben.”

Jamie frowned. Blinked. Waited.

“You know how, like, my siblings all had powers? Like that was the whole Umbrella Academy thing?”

“I recall some of that. Your names and powers were never listed or released to the government or military.”

“One of the few benefits of being Reginald Hargreeves’ kid,” Klaus smirked wryly. “He was rich enough to buy it all away.”

“Convenient,” she huffed with a half smile. “But what about it?”

“I hate being sober,” he suddenly groaned. “My power is to see the dead. And when I’m sober they’re  _ all there, all the time _ . And they crowd up in my space and yell and scream and they’re so often covered in blood and they’re  _ angry _ but they just want me to help them and I can’t so they get angry at me and-”

“Klaus, breathe,” Jamie ordered firmly, leaning forward. She knew someone working themselves into a panic attack when she saw it. Grimm half-crawled onto Klaus’ lap, pressing his head into Klaus’ ribs in an attempt to help. It seemed to work if the trembling arms winding around the large canine’s neck and fingers burying into dark fur were any sign. “Breathe with me now, in… and hold… and out slowly. There you go, great job.” 

For a few minutes, silence reigned before Jamie deemed it safe to talk again. 

“The dead, they-they follow you?” Her skin crawled at the very idea. “And they get mad because you can’t help them?”

“Yeah, usually I stay drugged up because it blocks them but-” he shrugged. “Not anymore. And they’re loud like they haven’t been since, uh, training with Dad.”

Jamie knew enough about Reginald Hargreeves to assume the worst. “That sounds awful.”

“I’ve been sober since I went to Vietnam but without Dave to help it’s- it’s so much worse,” he whimpered. “I don’t know why, but I haven’t seen him yet and it  _ hurts.  _ I just want to see him again.”

“Hey,” Jamie leaned forward again, resting her hand on his knee. “You’re here. You’re safe with us. We will help you. Whatever we can do to help, just ask and we will do our best to get it done.”

“Why? Do that for a stranger?” Reginald Hargreeves had encouraged ruthlessness, crime-fighting and protecting the innocent, but he had quite lacked in the generosity department.

“Kenny is our family and you’re  _ his  _ family,” Jamie said after a moment of thought. “He talked about his unit from Vietnam countless times. I remember the things he told me about you. You and Dave. He basically considered you brothers at the end of the months you all spent basically squished together. He was heartbroken when he thought you both died. Can’t tell you how many anniversaries of Vietnam I’d find him in the bar, drinking vodka from the bottle, staring at that squad picture.”

She looked up at him, shrugged. “I may not know you that closely yet, but I’m very quickly growing fond of you. And if Kenny trusts you, so will I.”

“Thank you,” Klaus swallowed thickly. In the corner of his eye, he saw Ben’s watery smile. “Thank you,” he repeated.

She just smiled, patted his leg again and left the kitchen. Klaus smiled down at the dog who now seemed content to rest his head on Klaus’ lap and get scratches behind the ear. 

(If Jamie pressed her back to the wall outside the kitchen and stifled a sob into her sleeve, that was only for her to know.)

 

7 AM the next morning Jamie found herself being kicked out of bed by her darling wife.

“You need to drive Remi and Antoni to school,” she said mercilessly, shoving her back again when she whined and tried to crawl back into bed.

“And people think you’re the nice one of us. Why did we decide to have kids again?” Jamie groaned, deciding their rug was comfortable enough only to groan again when Noelle threw a pillow at her and begrudgingly getting up. She stretched, smiling when she caught sight of her wife lounging on their bed, the rising sun behind her bathing her in its light and making her glow.   
If Jamie wasn’t already head over heels for her, this surely would’ve done it.

“We didn’t and you love them,” Noelle laughed. “Now go shower, I’ll go make food.”

“My saviour,” Jamie swooned dramatically, stumbling over to the master bathroom. “Eggs?”

“Of course, sweetheart.”

And sure enough, when Jamie got downstairs 30 minutes later, dressed and mostly ready for the day, she found Noelle leaning against the counter, staring out the window to where the dogs were running around, eggs frying on the stove. Jamie wound her arms around Noelle’s waist, rested her head on Noelle’s shoulder and waited for her wife to speak her mind.

“I think we should give Grimm to Klaus,” Jamie didn’t respond, waiting for her wife to choose her words. Noelle continued her explanation seconds later. “PTSD, anxiety, plus Grimm is already bonding with him. It’d be a good match, or at the very least one we should give a chance.”

“It would work,” Jamie mused, taking a deep breath to steady herself as the things Klaus had told her yesterday raced through her head. She let the feelings curl up, wash over her and fade. “Grimm helped him out of a panic attack last night. They’d work well together. I can get the recommendations needed, you have the credentials on Grimm. We could try it out.”

“We should,” Noelle decided, nodding. “We will. Take him somewhere today and take Grimm with you, in his vest. Let me know how it goes?”

“Of course,” Jamie nodded, letting go and settling into her spot at the kitchen table just in time for Klaus and Kenny to both stumble into the room, closely followed by a half-asleep Robin who promptly face-planted into the table.

“Morning boys,” Noelle chuckled. “What’s your plans for today?”

“Work,” Robin groaned. “Morning shift.  _ End me. _ ”

Jamie, not a morning person either, snorted and pat his head sympathetically and offered a fresh cup of coffee, which he curled around like some big tired cat.

“You’re lucky,” Klaus laughed. “I have to go soon, my family seems to want to have another lovely ‘family discussion’.”

“Are your family meetings that bad?” Noelle questioned, frowning.

“Well considering one of the last times we had one our biggest brother accused us all of  _ murdering our father  _ I would put my money on yes. Yes, they are.”

“What?” Kenny snorted. “Wasn’t it on the news that Hargreeves died of a heart attack or something like that?”

“Yeah, that’s what the autopsy said too, but nooooo apparently we’re all murderers now,” Klaus muttered. He wasn’t trying to be bitter but honestly, Luther made that pretty difficult sometimes.

Jamie and Kenny shared a look.

“How about I drive you there?” Jamie offered. “I can drop off Antoni and Remi at school on the way and we’ll go with you. I’ve got the day off and I don’t think Kenny’s gonna want to let you out of his sight for a while.”

“Hell no I don’t,” Kenny agreed.

“Oh, uh,” Klaus shifted in his seat, picturing his siblings’ reactions to them showing up with him. He thought back to yesterday and Diego’s reaction. Ironically, Diego was one of his more supportive siblings, so his other siblings’ reactions... “Actually, yeah sure. That’d be great.”

Somehow - he didn’t know exactly  _ how  _ Noelle managed it - he found himself in the back of Jamie’s truck, Remi half asleep on his shoulder while Antoni nearly vibrated out of his seat with excitement (he mentioned something about a project he would get to show, but honestly Klaus was too tired to keep up with the rapid-fire babbling). 

Grimm was curled up on his feet, vest on and leash held securely in Klaus’ hand. Noelle had shoved the lead into his hands and gotten him into the car, patting him on the knee and telling him to roll with it when he had tried to blink his tired confusion at her.

It felt like when he next blinked, Antoni and Remi were getting out of the car. Antoni bounced out, clutching onto his bag and Remi trudging along behind him. Another blink and he was in front of a red light and a final blink and Kenny was shaking him awake, informing him that they’d arrived near the Hargreeves manor.

He took a breath, squared his shoulders and then marched forward. Grimm trotted faithfully by his side. Behind him, Jamie and Kenny kept pace, eyes sharp and forcibly relaxed in a way that would allow for fast movement should it be needed. 

(Kind Jamie may be, but never let it be said that she trusted blindly or that she couldn’t identify potential danger when she saw it.)

Allison let them in, smiling politely at Jamie and Kenny and introducing herself, leading them inside to the living room where Luther and Diego were already waiting.

“Oh, Klaus. Good, we can start then.”

“I thought this was a family meeting?” Klaus asked.

“It is,” Luther said, pointedly looking at Klaus’ companions. “Klaus, your friends can’t-”

“Okay so why are we missing two people?” The Fourth Hargreeves trampled over him.

“What?” Luther scowled. 

“Vanya and Five?”

“ _ Oh my god, they actually named the kid Five, _ ” Jamie whispered to Kenny.

“Five is unreachable and Vanya doesn’t need to be here.”

“Why doesn’t your sister need to be here for this super secret family meeting about the End of Days?” Jamie interjected. 

Allison let out a startled laugh somewhere behind them. Luther scowled.

“ _ Klaus,  _ you know that was not supposed to be shared with outsiders-”

“Well then it’s good they’re not outsiders, isn’t it?” Klaus waved him off, bullying Kenny onto the sofa and then promptly using the older man as a pillow. He pulled out his phone and typed something out. Grimm sat in front of them, staring Diego down. “And on that note, that still doesn’t explain why Vanya isn’t here.”

“Just-”

“Ah, there she is!” At the perfect time, Vanya walked in, frowning at her phone and a man walking behind her, looking around wide-eyed like a lost puppy.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Number Seven asked, having noticed the abrupt halt in conversation.

“It’s, uh- it’s a family matter,” Allison said.

“A family matter,” Vanya repeated. “So you couldn’t be bothered to wait for me?” 

“No, it’s not like that-”

“Don’t let me interrupt.”

“To be fair, Ms Hargreeves, they were arguing about waiting on you. So really, the meeting still has to start and nothing’s been spoken about yet,” Jamie smiled politely.

“Fair?” Vanya narrowed her eyes. “There’s nothing fair about being their sister.”

“Maybe not, but you’re here now and there  _ are _ important matters to talk about, so please,” Jamie motioned to the seat next to her. “Sit.”

Vanya eyed her but conceded. She settled next to Jamie, motioning to the man who had quickly sat down next to her. “Fine. This is Leonard, by the way.”

Kenny kicked Jamie’s ankle, catching her eye and motioning to the man - Leonard. He tapped something out on the couch, an old military trick to subtly get information across and one Jamie and Kenny often used to joke at each other without the kids knowing what they were cackling about.

_ False - name - Jenkins - murder - 12 - released - dangerous _

_ False name, real name is Jenkins, convicted for murder, jailed for 12 years and since released. He’s dangerous. _

Jamie wasn’t fully up to date on all matters police like Kenny was - a perk of going from soldier to PD investigative officer, she was sure. If he told her this man was dangerous, though, she would trust his word and be wary.

_ Ok - guard - stay - calm - I - lead _

_ Okay, stay on guard. Stay calm. I’ll take the lead. _

Kenny tapped his foot twice.  _ Understood. _

“Err, Vanya you might want to tell your friend?” Diego motioned to Leonard. “That he should leave.” He looked as if he was going to sweep over to point at Kenny and Jamie too. Jamie glared. He wisely kept his gesture to Leonard only.

“What about Klaus’ people?” Vanya questioned. “Why should they stay?”

“Kenny is family,” Klaus shrugged. “He grows on you. Like mould,” he eeped when said ‘mold’ dug his fingers into Klaus’ side. “Rude, old man.”

“Asshole.”

“ _ Boys, _ ” Jamie pulled out the rarely used Mom-voice, hilariously freezing both grown men in place. “And anyway, while usually, I would, uh, vote to let him stay - it’s only fair, y’know - I don’t know how comfortable I am with a convicted murderer in on any meeting of sensitive information.”

“Murderer- I- what?” Leonard/Jenkins seemed at a loss for words. “Are you serious? Is this a joke?”

“I don’t know, it sure wasn’t funny when I read the report on how you bashed your father’s skull in with a hammer,” Kenny snarked. The Hargreeves family looked on, speechless. Vanya looked upset and like she was going to get up and leave, but Allison fixed her with a pleading look and Jamie put a firm hand on her knee, shaking her head.

“What? You’re not - what are you talking about?”

“I don’t know, you tell me,  _ Harold Jenkins. _ ”

“The old man must’ve lost it,” he laughed nervously. “I’m not- I’m no murderer and I’m not whoever this  _ Jenkins  _ person is. I’m Leonard. Leonard Peabody.”

“Don’t go down this road, Jenkins,” Jamie warned.

“Hey, that’s my old man!” Klaus protested. “And even if I didn’t believe him, the dead man glaring at you from the corner would’ve convinced me.”

“What?” Leonard seemed more panicked now, flinching back.

“Dead man, corner,” the Seance pointed. “Right there. He’s really mad and… real gross. Ew. Skull fragments.”

Jamie wrinkled her nose and took Klaus’ hand, rubbing circles on the back of it. Grimm nosed his other hand. Kenny scowled and petted Klaus’ head, which Klaus appreciated because that felt  _ good _ . Safe. The ghost yelled, but Klaus just looked at him through heavy eyes.

“He murdered me! The ungrateful little  _ shit _ ! HE KILLED ME!”

“Cool, sounds like a fun time. Family bonding at its finest,” Klaus snipped back, cringing back when the spirit reached out to him, seemingly intent on strangling him only for Leonard’s protests to grab the man’s attention again.

“Klaus, can you be serious for two minutes? It’s not the time for your games!” Ah, Luther. Always the shining example of prime observational skills and good decisions.

Kenny, annoyed and tired and quite done with people snapping at his friend, glared at Luther. “Can you stop being an asshole for just a few seconds and really take a good look?”

“He’s just a junkie, he’s never serious, does it matter?” Luther snapped back. “We have more important things to be focusing on than Klaus’ delusions.”

“Excuse me?” Ben and Kenny hissed at the same time, making Klaus snort.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Luther’s right-”

“No, he’s not,” Ben interrupted.

“-and we can’t focus on Klaus’ drug issues right now. He needs to step up and work with us, do his part for once.”

“Diego Two Hargreeves,  _ shut your whore mouth, _ ” Klaus let out a strangled laugh at Ben’s hissed curse, even while the hurt of the comment hit him like a truck.

“You assholes better shut up and get your head out of your before I-”

Of course, it was at this moment a whirling sound interrupted Kenny’s sentence, closely followed by the appearance of a boy who took in the company, took in the weird tension and promptly decided to stumble over to the bar.

“Five, welcome back, good to see you-”

“The Apocalypse is cancelled. And what is  _ he  _ doing here?”

“What?” Klaus blinked.

“ _ Him _ ,” the youngest/eldest waved the still-sputtering man. “Harold Jenkins.”

“You know him?”

“Why are you bleeding?” Jamie interrupted, standing and getting closer. Jenkins took the opportunity afforded by the intense stares taken off of him and fled, the coward.

“Yes, and what-” Five looked down. “Oh. Must’ve gotten clipped.”

“Sit down,” Jamie put an arm around his shoulders and helped him to the ground as the adrenaline crash took the strength in his legs with it. “Alright now, it’s not that bad. You’ll be fine. Try to stay awake, though, okay? Great.”

Five’s face showed a mixture of exhaustion, disgruntlement and confusion.

“You know, I’m a highly trained killer. I prevented the Apocalypse. I don’t need your help.”

“Sure, but right now you’re bleeding out - thank you - on a  _ very  _ expensive rug, so your argument is invalid,” Jamie accepted a towel Diego handed her. His genuine worry for his smallest brother softened her anger against him.

“Your existence is invalid,” Five squinted up at her, his vision still somewhat blurry.

“I’m sure it is,” she snorted, before directing her attention to Diego. “He needs stitches, you got anyone who can do them?”

“Can’t you?”

“Don’t have supplies.“

“Pogo can,” Vanya rasped, from where she’d been staring at the door. She was angry and scared and confused. Why and when had Leonard run off? Should she even go after him if he was actually hiding something like that from her?

“I’ll carry him,” Diego said, lifting the boy up with enviable ease. “I’ll be back in a few.”

Luther looked mildly chagrined. “Well, no use having a meeting now,” he sighed. “We’ll have to wait until Five wakes up to see what he means.”

Jamie took a deep breath, looked down at her hands (not coated in red, but close,  _ so close, too close _ ) and rolled her shoulders.

“While we wait, I’m going to get coffee and something to eat,” she said, snatching her car keys and tugging her jacket back over her shoulders.

“That’s not-” 

Jamie barked out a harsh, half-hysterical laugh. Too much, everything was too much right now. Too close, too much. She needed to get some fresh air. “Didn’t you hear the kid? The Apocalypse has been called off. Live a little.”

“You good?” Kenny asked cautiously, eyeing his longtime friend.

“I’m fine.”

“Want us to go with you?”

“No,” Jamie sighed. “No, you and Klaus should have a moment without me. Ms Vanya, would you like to come along?”

Vanya looked at her for a moment, eyes still haunted, still hurt and confused. “I- yeah, sure.”

And like that, Jamie and Vanya disappeared to where Jamie had parked her car, both of them desperately needing some fresh air and a break from the house’s oppressive atmosphere.

Klaus sighed, getting up and tugging Kenny up too. Grimm trotted behind them ever-faithful. It was a waiting game and Klaus was gonna spend that time with his old friend.   
(As ever, Ben followed behind. He’d watched, observed with sharp eyes and an even sharper mind. Klaus was correct, however - for the next few hours there was nothing they could do.)

Kenny wasn’t sure about what  _ exactly  _ set Jamie off, but he could hazard a guess and say the proximity with a murderer, combined with the confrontation with Luther, followed by an injured child appearing from thin air might’ve tested her nerves.   
For now, he’d focus on Klaus. Jamie could handle herself.

That left Luther and Allison. Luther made to speak but Allison just sighed, shook her head and walked away. She wanted to check on her injured sibling. And just like that Luther was once more alone in the hall.   
He decided to go to his father’s rooms. There was something he wanted to check.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so in the next chapter, we segway into Luther finding out he was sent to the moon for nothing, some important conversations and confrontations are had.
> 
> I would like to thank @keepingtimetimetime for the "diego two hargreeves" line that i forced wolfie to put in because it was too good to not have in the fic. -jrw

**Author's Note:**

> Written by wolfishhel (@imnotlookingforhappy on tumblr), edited by justarandomword. Feel free to send me a request/prompt on tumblr!


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